AWO TRINING – PART1

There is a common misconception that Awo does not go into possession. It is true that Awo
generally do not go into reason they do not do this is not because they can´t , but because they
have a communal responsibility to guide and protect those Orisa initiates who have a
fundamental connection to a particular spirit.

The process of Tela or Ifa initiation is taboo to discuss. It is not taboo to discuss the
metaphysical concepts related to the transformation of the initiate. Ifa initiation occurs as a
result of the invocation of the sixteen meji Odu on the ori of the initiate. This invocation is
followed by the invocation of the seventeenth Odu called Ose´tura. (in order of seniority Ose
´tura always appears out of sequence). The invocation of Ose´tura causes the copulation of the
meji odu resulting in the procreation of the two hundred and forty Omo Odu. The experience
of having the omo Odu born in the ori of the initiate produces an altered state of
consciousness called Elerin- ipin meaning Witness to creation. It is this experience in the
initiation process that gives the intiate a glimps into the inner nature of Odu. This experience
also give the initiate the ofo ase needed to invoke the 256 verses of Ifa scripture. The ability
to invoke Obu is what makes an Awo either a father (Babalawo) or mother (Iyanifa) of the
sdecrets. If an altered of consciousness, commonly referred to as possession. Were not needed
to inoke Odu there would be need for Ifa initiation and evervone would be born an Awo . The
notion that Awo do not go ino an altered state of consciousness to invoke Odu is disconnected
from the reality of the ancient discipline and practive of our Egbe ancestors.

The fact that the ideas is so wide spread within our community is an indication of the extent to
which the training of Awo in the Diaspora nis in real crisis. Every society, every initiation, every
elevation, and every ritual that supports and sustains tradional Yoruba religious culture is
rooted in Odu . This means Awo has the ofo ase to invoke everything and to become anything.
Rather than have a shrine room filled with pots for the 201 Itunmale, Ifa uses a single tray,
marks the Odu of a particular spirit then invokes both the Odu and the Spirit who speaks
through that Odu.We are given this ability as part of our sacred rresponsibility to preserve the
tradition. The experience of having Odu born in Ori is the basis for externalizing that
experience.

Anywhere you find an Awo with an Ifa tray you have the potential for re- creating the universe
{Elerin – Ipin} meaning the potential for re- establishing any aspect of the thadition that may
have been lost or destroyed for any reason. In areas where the tradition is alive and well, the
tradition is primarily carried into the future by orisa initates. This does not mean that Awo
abandons its responsibility to reclaim that which has been otherwise lost.

Anyone who is experienced invoking Odu will tell you that you cannot effectively manifest the
ase or spiritual power of a particular verse withot becoming aligned with the ase manifested in
the verse. This alignment can range from being touched by it, to becoming two headed
(meaning both possessed by it and conscious of self} or by becoming completely absorbed by
the ase (full possession}.

During the course of my career as an Awo I have ben told I ca’t give Orisa, I can’t give Egun, I
can´t give Iyaami. I say if any of these manifestations of Spirit are rooted in Odu, if I have been
taught the Odu, if I have been taught the otiki and if I have been taught the inner secret of the
pot, then as Awo I can transfer the ase. If I am in a community that has Orisa there is no need
for me to give Orisa. The fact that there is no need for me to give Orisa does not mean I can’t
give Orisa and it does not mesn I should not know how to give Orisa. There is a difference
between the way Ifa gives Orisa and the way orisa gives Orisa.In very simple metaphysical
terms that the initiated will understand; Ifa give birth to Orisa from the tray, Orisa gives birth
to orisa from the pot. When Ifa gives birth to Orisa it is to sustain lineage. There is no Orisa
bom outside of Odu which means there is no Otisa born Outside of Ifa.

I appreciate the fact that the ideas the ideas I am expressing here are outside the common
understanding of Ifa that is prevalentwhitin the Diaspora. Twemty yeary ago when I first
started tostudy Ifa there were fewer than a doxen Awo in Ameriva, and there was little or no
access to Awo in Africa.The difficulty in receiving training and the difficulty in having access to
elders will inherently breed misconceptions, I am suggesting that my trining and my
experience is contraty to common belief about the role and function of Ifa and that it is time to
consider alternate viaws on the subject as a basis for proper training. The collective confusion
about Ifa makes the task of studying Ifa difficult for overwhelming numbers of Awo who have
returned from Tefa in Africa and want to seriously study the sacred technology thawill allow
them to serve effectively as Awo. Without the component of altered states of consciousness
the discipline of Ifa is reduced to the intellectual exercise of interpreting passagens of scripture
found in a book. Awo has a responsibility to interpret Odu but the intellectual ability to
interpret Odu has very little to do with the more important responsibility associated with the
ase needed to transform ibi (misfortune) in ire (good fortune). The ability to fix problems
through the invocation of Odu is directly related to the ability of the diviner to place
components of their ori (consciousness) into the land od the ancestors (Orun) the place where
physical reality is ultimately transformed. The ori can only make contract with alternate
realities from an alternate state of consciousness, commonly known as possession.Orunmila
was a historical prophet. In my opinion it would be appropriate to consider Orunmila a deifiad
ancestor. The Spirit of Orunmila, the Spirit that touches an Ifa initiate when they are effectively
invoking Odu is not the Spirit of Orunmila, it is the Spirit of Ela . The word Ela literally means I
am light from the elision e ala. The ability to become one with the Spirit of Ela is the ability to
use ori as a portal between the visible world and the invisible world. When an Awo is in an
altered state of consciousness the thing that passes beween dimensions is pure unformed ase
symbolically referred to as ala or white light. As this ase comes from lle Orun to lle Aye through
the ori of the diviner it taked shape and is formed by the ofo ase inherent in the oriuki spoken
by the diviner while in an altered state of consciousness. If this were not true anyone could go
to book look up the Odu figure out what it meant abd fix the problem. There is an element of
awo or mystery in the divination process and the mystery is related to the ability of ori to
detach from the physical body.

If my understanding of the role and function of an Awo is accurate, the first step in the trining
of an Awo is to make sure they have direct and easy access to the spirit of Ela. The question
becomes how is this done? In my lineage every four days the Spitit of Ela is invoked in front of
the Awo’s Ifa. Every sixteen days the Awo of community come together and invoke Ela
collectively as part of Egbe ritual. There is regionalvariation in the number of days and how
often the agbe meets. What appears to be generally true is that individual Awo spend personal
time and collective time enhancing their relationship with the spirit of Eal. There are various
ways to do this. If you are blessed with access to an elder who is teaching you Ifa follow their
guidance and ignore my instruction. I am giving instruction on a way to do it based on the
urging of Spirit. My sense of our current social situation is this, if we ndo not enhance our
connection to Spirit and if we do not elevate our effort to receive guidance from Spirit we are
going be faced with serious problems for which our current understanding of Odu will be
inadequate preparation for the fundamental task of transforming ibi into ire.

Four day prayer cycle

Place the bowl of ikin used for divination on the mat in your shrine room. Take the ikin from
the bowl one at time. As you take the ikin from the bowl touch them to the top of of your
divining tray, then touch them to the center of the divining tray then touch the ikin to your
lips. As you are making these movements say Eji Ogbe mo ko ki o to, Oyeku Meji mo ko ki o to,
and on through the sixteen meji. When he removed the seventeenth ikin trom the bowl say
Ose tura mo ko ko o to and place the ikin on the tray. Roll the ikin in you hands while doing the
oring the oriki to Ela

Ope ni fun Olurum.

Gratitude to the Owner of the realm of the Ancestrs.

Iba Olodumare, Oba ajiki.

I respect the creator, the king we praise first.

Mo ji loni, mo wo´gun merin aye.

Iawake today and I see the for cormers of the world.

Iba Elawori, agbegi ler, la´fin ewo I’ado, eniti Oludumare ko pa’jo eda Omo Oluworiogbo.

I respect the Spirit of Purity, he who carves the cloth at Ado in the form of a sculpture, the one
whose date of death has not been changed by the child of the Chirf Priest who made all the
Heads that exist in creation.

Ela omo osin. Ela Omo Oyigiyigi ota omi.

Spirit of Manifestation, child of the ruler. Spirit of Manifestation, child of the offsoring of the
Stone in the Water.

Awa di oyigiyigi. A ki o ku wa .

We ourselves become manifestation. The Stone that birthed Spirit of Manifestation Will never
die.

Ela ro a ki o ku mo, okiribiti. Ela rO (Sokale) Orunko ifá.

The Spirit of Manifestation hás descended to Earth, we die no more. This is the name we give
to Destiny.
Entiti ngbe ni I”a. Nwon se ebo Ela fun mi.

He is the one Who saved us. We have made sacrifice to the Spirit of Manifestation.

Ko t’ina, ko to ro.

He is no substance.He is too small to be thought of.

Beni on (Ela) ni gba ni la n’ife,Oba- a – mola.,